Based in Claremont, CA, and specializing in period instruments, the Con Gioia Early Music Ensemble gave a performance much different from the normal musical fare. The anchor of the group was a harpsichord, which was surrounded by a viola, a baroque violin, lute, and a theorbo, which is like a lute except three times longer. The musicians were joined on most songs by Juliana Gondek, a mezzo-soprano with a beautiful voice. Clifton Massey, an alto, joined for a few others.
It’s interesting hearing songs like this sung in English, because, at least from my experience, anything operatic has been in Italian or Spanish. And I think that I like not knowing what the words are, because it gives the music that much more weight. But as they say in the Baroque music world, "It’s good to mix things up a bit, mate." On that tip, Gondek has a commanding voice that mixed well with these incredible musicians, and she was expressive enough to keep the performance visually engaging. Denise Briese was also very interesting to watch as she commanded her viola with great expertise and almost full body immersion into playing it. This was also the first time I had ever heard a viola perform a solo, and it was fantastic. The three other musicians, M. Anne Rardin, Jason Yoshida, and Preethi de Silva (who also directs) were just as great.
Just as impressive as this performance was the building that it took place in. The Colburn School is right next to Moca in downtown Los Angeles, and it is quite an amazing place. Beautiful student art adorns the walls, sculptures hang from the ceilings, and private music practice rooms are everywhere (many of which were in use). It’s very inspiring to be surrounded by so much creativity; for a second I considered becoming a student again.
But then there’s all that annoying learning….
To see when the Con Gioia Early Music Ensemble is playing again, check out https://www.congioia.org/. And to visit the Colburn School, go to https://colburnschool.edu/.
